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Adam Gurri joins us for a discussion on utilitarianism and why it may not be a satisfactory moral theory in which to ground libertarianism.
This week we discuss the philosophy of utilitarianism and it’s relationship with libertarianism.
What is utilitarianism? How is utilitarianism related to economics? What makes utilitarianism seem to work so well when applied to economic thinking? And where does it go wrong?
Show Notes and Further Reading
Adam Gurri, “Morality, Economics, and the Problem with Preferences” (column)
Adam Gurri, “Liberty with Dignity, Mutual Respect, and Morality” (column)
Jeremy Bentham and J. S. Mill, Utilitarianism and Other Essays (collection)
Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun (play)
Alfred C. Pigou, The Economics of Welfare (book)
Ronald Coase, The Firm, the Market, and the Law (book)
Adam Gurri works in digital advertising and has an MA in economics from George Mason University. He writes on subjects ranging from philosophy, ethics, and rhetoric to technology, social science, and innovation. His present research focuses on the ethics of business and work, from the perspective of virtue and human flourishing.
Aaron Powell founded Libertarianism.org. He is now the host of (Re)Imagining Liberty, a podcast about the case for radical freedom.
Trevor Burrus was a research fellow in the Cato Institute’s Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies and editor-in-chief of the Cato Supreme Court Review. His research interests include constitutional law, civil and criminal law, legal and political philosophy, legal history, and the interface between science and public policy.
He is the editor of A Conspiracy against Obamacare (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013) and Deep Commitments: The Past, Present, and Future of Religious Liberty (Cato, 2017). Burrus holds a BA in philosophy from the University of Colorado at Boulder and a JD from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. He also contributed a chapter to Libertarianism.org’s Visions of Liberty.